Water jetted piling

ABSTRACT

A pile and method of sinking piling into clay, sand or other material (which may be underwater) is disclosed employing a downward pointing hollow plastic nose cone base which is filled with concrete and through which water is jetted to erode away the earth. The exterior of the cone is broken by threads formed thereon to allow the pile to be advanced through strata of harder material such as shell layers. The upper surface of the nose cone includes a series of stair-stepped cylindrical flanges to receive different diameter plastic pipe. The piling may be formed of any height desired by adding additional pipe sections to the top of the initial pipe sections. The pipe sections are also preferably filled with concrete which may be reinforced by a spiral steel reinforcement rod. In assembling, the lightweight plastic members are solvent welded together at the site, concrete is poured into the nose cone about a central jetting pipe and the unit lowered to the earth. Then by either jet action or screw action or both, the piling is advanced into the earth to the desired depth. Additional pipe segments are added as needed as the piling drops further into the ground. Steel reinforcing rods and concrete are then added if desired.

United States Patent Jan. 25, 1972 [5 7] ABSTRACT A pile and method ofsinking piling into clay, sand or other material (which may beunderwater) is disclosed employing a downward pointing hollow plasticnose cone base which is Keats [54] WATER JET'IED PILING [72] Inventor:John B. Keats, Jefiersonville, Ind.

[73] Assignee: Borg-Warner Corporation, Chicago, Ill.

[22] Filed: Mar. 16, 1970 [21] App]. No.: 19,566

[52] U.S. Cl ..6l/53.74 [51 Int. Cl. ..E02b 5/32, E02b 7/24 [58] FieldofSearch ..6l/53.74,53,56, 63; 175/19, 175/20, 21, 22

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS Great Britain Great Britain.....

seam" filled with concrete and through which water is jetted to erodeaway the earth. The exterior of the cone is broken by threads formedthereon to allow the pile to be advanced through strata of hardermaterial such as shell layers. The upper surface of the nose coneincludes a series of stair-stepped cylindrical flanges to receivedifferent diameter plastic pipe. The piling may be formed of any heightdesired by adding additional pipe sections to the top of the initialpipe sections. The pipe sections are also preferably filled withconcrete which may be reinforced by a spiral steel reinforcement rod. lnassembling, the lightweight plastic members are solvent welded togetherat the site, concrete is poured into the nose cone about a centraljetting pipe and the unit loweredto the earth. Then by either jet actionor screw action or both, the piling is advanced into the earth to thedesired depth. Additional pipe segments are added as needed as thepiling drops further into the ground. Steel reinforcing rods andconcrete are then added if desired.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures FIG. 2 H63 \FIII/I WU H21 22 cm a O a 1 a Bw 20 Inventor John B. Keoi's By Attorney PATENTEU JAN25 I972 WATER.mrrsn PILING FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates topiles and particularly it relates to a new and improved method andapparatus for forming and driving pilings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The piling device and method of the presentinvention is devised for use on both land and in water. The inventivedevices may be used to jet fence posts in soft terrain, to set pilingsfor boat ramps, waterway markers, large commercial docks and ramps and ahost of similar applications.

Water jetted piles have in the past been formed in a large number ofways and variations. Jet pilings have been extensively used for underseapilings. They have normally involved the use of metal piping eitherabout or through a wooden or concrete piling member. While normallysatisfactory for going through ordinary silt, the jet pile drivingmethod has been generally considered insufficient in dealing with layersof harder material such'as shell, shale, etc., and especially difficultin slat water areas wherein a hard crust has been formed.

Also such piles that have been heretofore employed have the disadvantageof being heavy and bulky items to ship and handle. As such, either theymust be essentially constructed at the site or near the site that theyare intended to be used or excessive costs of shipping would necessarilybe borne.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a piling deviceand parts which can be quite easily transported, handled and joinedtogether thereby enabling a single person to easily and quickly set upat the sites of their use.

A still further object of the invention is to provide standards, postsor pilings which are composed of separable sections which can be used indesired numbers for height desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A pile device constructed in accordance withthe present invention includes a generally inverted cone-shaped basemember or nose cone which has a longitudinally interrupted outer conesurface preferably by threads formed thereon; water jetting meansthrough the interior thereof and exit at the apex so that the cone maybe driven by jet action aided by the breaking up of shell strata, etc.,by the cone surface.

A primary feature of the present invention is the provision of devicesof the kind indicated which the base member is a hollow sheet made oflightweight, preferably nonmetallic materials, such asacrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene,- polyvinyl chloride or any tough, rigidplastic that can be solvent welded or bonded together by simple meansand can be filled with concrete or the like at the site of use.

The other feature of the present invention is the provision of a pilewhich is composed in part of hollow pipes and blow molded shapes so asto be easily transported, handled and joined together.

A still further feature of the invention is the simplicity of installingspecial wound metal reinforcing rods which will give the maximumstructural strength to the piling when said rods are imbedded in theconcrete filler. Spiral wound rod is simply placed over and around thetube used for jetting and the rod is dropped in place. To bend thereinforced piling will mean that its elasticity or bending strength willdepend mainly upon the tensile strength of the reinforcing rods. Thiscontributes to greater rigidity of the resulting pile.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of a blow molded nosecone which has an interrupted cone surface, preferably double threads toscrew through and break up shell, shale, etc., formations which would beimpossible for a smooth faced cone to penetrate. This novel nose conepile base has adapters of various sizes to accept pipe with insidedimensions so as to give an interference fit and also make a goodsolvent weld bond. The nose cone base preferably also has built-inhorizontal flanges to hold muck, mud, sand, etc., blown upon the flangesduring jetting period and to prevent unwanted movement of the pileADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION An advantage of the invention is theprovision of simple, efficient and relatively inexpensive devices whichby their ease of handling, assembly and positioning will preventneedless casualties, serious and permanent injuries to workmen as occursin metal, concrete and various poison and dangerous impregnated woodpilings.

Plastic pipe and parts described herein are perfectly compatible withthe sea and will not rot, corrode or be subject to the attacks of wormsand other boring marine animals.

Plastics selected are integral in color and where vivid or standardcolors are required or desired same will be provided.

Plastics also selected are somewhat porous and can be impregnated andcoated with a Vaseline based compound of such a specific gravity thatgives protection against bamacles and other crustaceous creatures as theVaseline compound prevents adhesion to the plastic pipe. Coating alsoprevents vegetable growth.

ABS plastics and a few other plastics of similar properties offer noimpedance to microwave in the wall thicknesses necessary for thesepilings and standards. A certain portion of the pipe above the waterline may be left hollow. This area may contain a radarreflector-transponder or various telemetry controlled from a shorestation. Hollow space in pipe may be weather protected by a screw-inplug and a neoprene O-ring or similar joints.

The plastic jetting tube is not easily abraised or roughed by sharp gritor rusting thereby causing the jet system to be most efficient incomparison to metal pipe or tubing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The features of the present inventionwhich are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in theappended claims. The invention, together with the further advantagesthereof, may best be understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in theseveral figures of which like reference numerals identify like elements,and in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view partially in section of a finished pileand its environment of use;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of a part of the piling of FIG. 1 withalternative construction shown in dashed lines; and

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the portion of the pilingshown in FIG. 2 as seen therein approximately along the line 33.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG. 1 there is depicted a pile I0constructed in accordance with the present invention. The pile 10 isdepicted in one of its preferred environments of use: a marking pole ora fixed buoy. As can be seen, the pile l0 buried within the sea bottomI2 for a predetermined desired distance below the earth level 13 andextends through water 14 into the air above the sea. A segment 18 of thepile 10 extends above the high waterline 16 and is preferably colored bya reflecting coded marking color.

The bottom of the pile 10 comprises a generally conically shaped basemember 20. This base essentially is an inverted cone pointing downwardwith horizontal flange segment at its upper portion. Affixed to the baseis a main body portion, generally 22, of a diameter less than that ofthe maximum diameter of the base 20. The particular pile 20 illustratedhas three sections 22A, 22B and 22C joined together at the joints 228Cand 22AB with the bottommost of the sections, section 22A, joined to thebase 20 at a joint 21.

The construction of the base 20 and the bottom section 22A of the pile10 is better shown in FIG. 2. Referring to that figure it may be seenthat the generally inverted cone-shaped base 20 has a screw thread 21spiraling about it from a generally flat nozzle or water jet opening 20]through the downward pointing apex of the cone. Rising from the base 208of the cone in a successive stairlike manner are three concentriccylindrical segments C,,20D and 20B each of a successively smallercylindrical diameter so as to receive plastic tubes or pipes such as thepipe section 22A illustrated in solid lines joined, at 21, to thecylindrical segment 20E. These various segments 20C and 20D allow thebase 20 to be used with pipes (such as the pipes 22X and 22Y shown infathom lines) of different diameters and increase the utility of thesingle base form 20. Thus, as illustrated, the base 20 may be used withrelatively thin pipings such as markers or fence posts or can be usedfor thicker greater load bearing pilings, such as for use in a pier orbridge.

As is better illustrated in FIG. 3 between the outer diameter (theredesigned 20R) of the nose cone 20 and the cylindrical segment 20C is ahorizontal flange segment 20B. Similarily between the cylindricalsegments 20C and 20D, and between the cylindrical segments 20E and 20D,there are similar horizontal flangesegments designated respectively 20Fand 206. These flanges resist upward forces that might tend to removethe driven pile.

A major feature of the present invention is the provision of thethreading interruptions 21 on the outer cone surface of the base 20. Thethreads are preferably of the buttress type which is formed with asubstantially horizontal face between its crests and roots. As such itpresents an almost barbed cross section, as shown in FIG. 3, and whenimplanted also resists upward forces. More importantly, it serves togrind up and break down hard layers or materials during the pile drivingprocess and serves to guide and spin the water rising from the jet port201 upward along the cone surface. The vibration and movements up anddown of the nose cone during the driving operation moves the serrationsagainst material that resists the jet action and subjects to verticalforces that, especially for thin strata of shell or the like, break itup and allow the base member 20 drive through. In addition the threadallows the base 20 to be turned or threaded downward by rotation of thepipe sections 22 and screw itself into the earth. The tripartite actionof jet, interruptions on the outer surface and screw threading produceseasier penetration.

As mentioned above, the conical-shaped base 20 is preferably formed in aunitary manner of plastic material such asacrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS). The third cylindrical jointportion 20E of the base 20 is preferably solvent welded to the pipe 22Asection 22B to form the bell joint 21. The hollow interior of the baseor nose cone 20 is preferably filled with ferroconcrete except for a jetpipe 30 which extends down the central axis of the conical base 20 andthrough the pipe section 22A. The jet pipe upper end has a joint adapter32. The jet pipe 30 serves as a conduit for the water which is pumpedout of the outlet 20.] under pressure. As shown, a collar 34, ispreferably afiixed by solvent welding to the jet pipe at its ex'tremedownward end so as to wedge the pipe 30 against the interior sidewallsof the cone 20 and to prevent the jet pipe 30 from passing through thecones apex opening.

The sections of tube or pipe body 22 are preferably filled with concreteor other solid materials after driving and also are preferablyreinforced by unique reenforcing steel rod 36 formed in the shape of aspiral. The steel reinforcing rods 36 are preferably preformed insegments of approximately the length of the pipe segments 22A, 228, etc.They may then be assembled therewith in an easy and effective manner bysimply inserting or dropping them down the pipe prior to pouring in theconcrete.

The process of forming the pile in accordance with the present inventionemploys the nose cone or conically shaped base member 20 with the jetpipe segment 30 placed therein. The base member 20 is filled withconcrete 40 preferably of the ferroconcrete type, to approximately thelevel indicated by the numeral 37. That is, it is substantially filledwith concrete 40 to. weigh it and stiffen it. While the concrete issetting, the outer pipe segment 22A is placed thereon and the bell joint21 formed between the segments 20E and 22B, preferably by solventwelding. (Of course, other types of joints may be employed, if desired.)If the depth of the water in which the pile is to be driven requires it,additional segments such as 228 may be added by solvent welding at thistime atop of the segment 22A with similar additional segments of the jetpipe 30 added through them. The unit formed thereby is dropped to makecontact with the soil or earth at the point in which the pile is to bedriven and water, under pressure, is pumped through the pipe 30 to erodeaway the earth below the now weighted and stifiened base 20, while theentire unit is rotated in a direction to advance the screw threads 21.

The serrated edges formed by the threads function to break the harderareas and provide a swirling action to the water force up between theearth and the base 20. As the base 20 moves downward additional units ofthe pipe segment 22 and the jet pipe 30 may be added and are preferablysolvent welded to the unit. When the desired position is reached thewater is disconnected from the pipe 30. At that time the segments ofjetting pipe above the pipe 30 may be withdrawn for reuse and thereinforcement bars 36, and concrete 48 (or such other filler as may beemployed) inserted. The segment 18 (FIG. 1) of the pile 10 above themaximum water line may be maintained empty so as to save on materials.if so maintained, the bottom of the cavity formed therein should befilled with an insulator such as styrofoam to prevent condensation of thconcrete and the top plugged by a suitable plug.

In areas where it is not possible to completely jet a piling, a rotaryaction cutting tool is simply solvent welded to the extended jet tubing.Pressure upon the cutting tool can be adjusted by simply adding theamount of concrete and reinforcing rod in the hollow tubing to permitmaximum efficiency by pressure to the cutting mechanism.

As should now be obvious a new and improved water jetted piling has beendescribed which has several advantageous features. The above-describedpiling may be used in both land and water, but is especially useful forthe underwater pilings. The light weight of the primary material makethe piling easily transported and assembled. This also allows theelements to be easily handled on the site and eliminates the need forextensive equipment at the erection site. The above-described systememploying one type of base unit may produce piles of several diametersdepending upon the ultimate use. The base of the unit renders itespecially useful in breaking through salt or shell layers in oceanpiling driving.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changesand modifications may be made without dcparting from the invention inits broader aspects and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is tocover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spiritand scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A base member for use in a piling structure comprising:

a generally conical-shaped member having an opening for receiving awater jetting pipe and a longitudinally interrupted conical outersurface so as to better be able to break through and break up soilobstructions during driving, wherein said base member conical outersurface is interrupted by substantially upward facing surface segmentsso as to present a barbedlike longitudinal cross section to the basemember.

2. A base member for use in a piling structure comprising:

a generally conical-shaped member having an opening for receiving awater jetting pipe and a longitudinally interrupted conical outersurface so as to better be able to break through and break up soilobstructions during driving, wherein said interrupted surface is formedinto threading.

3. The base member for use in a piling structure, as defined in claim 2,wherein:

said threading is of the buttress type with upward facing surfacesbetween the crests and roots.

4. The base member for use in a piling structure, as defined in claim 1wherein:

said top of said base member has a plurality of concentric cylindricalsegments formed thereon to receive a plurality of different diameterpipe sections.

t t v w

1. A base member for use in a piling structure comprising: a generallyconical-shaped member having an opening for receiving a water jettingpipe and a longitudinally interrupted conical outer surface so as tobetter be able to break through and break up soil obstructions duringdriving, wherein said base member conical outer surface is interruptedby substantially upward facing surface segments so as to present abarbedlike longitudinal cross section to the base member.
 2. A basemember for use in a piling structure comprising: a generallyconical-shaped member having an opening for receiving a water jettingpipe and a longitudinally interrupted conical outer surface so as tobetter be able to break through and break up soil obstructions duringdriving, wherein said interrupted surface is formed into threading. 3.The base member for use in a piling structure, as defined in claim 2,wherein: said threading is of the buttress type with upward facingsurfaces between the crests and roots.
 4. The base member for use in apiling structure, as defined in claim 1 wherein: said top of said basemember has a plurality of concentric cylindrical segments formed thereonto receive a plurality of different diameter pipe sections.